Retiring can be Hazardous to Mental and Physical Well-Being:

Knowing When and How to Retire

Diane M. Spokus

The Pennsylvania State University , University Park , Pennsylvania

 

Abstract: This paper explores the experiences of retirement that are related to a retirees' social, economic, physical and mental well-being.

“For a number of older workers, coming to work is their central
life-defining and life-supporting activity. This is where their
friends are, where they receive love, respect and caring.”
(Excerpt from Voices of Experience: Mature Workers in the FutureWorkforce, 2002.)

 

There may be many challenges that retirees experience when they leave the workplace. Lifestyle changes may require unforeseen adaptation and adjustments that result in a sense of disenchantment that may affect their well-being. Overall, considerable attention has been paid to the media's focus on the benefits that older adults experience as retirees. They are depicted as a healthy, economically secure and self-satisfied people who spend many hours in leisure time golfing, traveling, exercising and drinking lemonade while lying on a lounge chair in their backyards.

Financial planning is considered the most important item to be discussed because, without adequate counseling, resources will be inadequate and unavailable at a most significant period of their lives. However, retirees may encounter unanticipated physical and psychosocial problems unique to individuals and their environments. Although retirement is portrayed as one of the most serious later life transitions, the quality of their life experiences may not adequately be explored.

Although economic issues affect retirees, an absence of workplace activity may also lead to decreased self-worth and insecurity, which also may affect their mental and physical health. This unanticipated consequence also may have a rippling effect that influences their relationships with friends and families. Understanding this transition process may help retirees adapt more successfully to lifestyle changes and maintain a better quality of life.

Maslow (1954), who is attributed as the Father of Humanistic Psychology, researched common needs all people have since birth (Bittel & Newstrom, 1990). If a need is not met, it will consume the individual. When one need is met, the individual will progress to the next level. Maslow's “hierarchy of needs” in terms of importance are: (a) survival, (b) security, (c) belonging, (d) esteem, and (e) self-actualization. When an individual retires, there may be needs that are no longer being met, and this unsatisfied need may be hazardous to a retiree's mental and physical well-being.

The first need is physiological and concerns the need for survival, such as, oxygen, food and water. Evidence of this basic need in the workplace may be receiving a salary in compensation for service. The second need is security. A retiree may not feel secure because of a loss of employer benefits for healthcare and other types of plans that might provide other resources. The third need is belonging. Holiday parties, luncheons and summer picnics provide the employee with a social activity that builds relationships and provides a family experience. The fourth need is esteem. This need can be seen in the workplace when an employee is recognized through rewards and recognition. The fifth need is self-actualization. This need continually motivates a person to achieve bigger and better experiences through professional development and personal experiences. However, self-actualization may be a need that is never met (Maslow, 1954 as cited in Dintelman, 2002).

There is also an opportunity for financial planners to provide a new type of service to retirees using Maslow's hierarchy from survival to self-actualization. This new trend addresses the needs of individuals as they progress toward a “meaningful retirement” or self-actualization. Retirees want to build a legacy and a sense of self-respect and fulfillment (Stein, 2001).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has been criticized with varying conclusions. Rogers (1961) theory supports Maslow's and suggests an active lifestyle promotes a basic holistic characteristic of human behavior. However, Maslow's theory has met with much criticism due to a lack of evidence, vagueness and inability to duplicate (Schultz, 1977).

Research on older adults nearing retirement reveals that leading an active social life contributes to their overall emotional and physical health (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2000). Lack of work through retirement may decrease the amount of social activity in their lives. Consequently, the dynamics of the workplace provides workers with a fertile environment for maintaining their social skills. Since many retirees are also experiencing the empty nest syndrome, this loss of workplace activity may deprive them of a sense of community or family. In addition, retirement may decrease the opportunities for a setting that is conducive to social interaction and may even increase a couple's dependency on one another. The most reported change by couples is a loss of personal space and conflict because of spending too much time with one another (Higginbottom, et al., 1993). Thus, widowhood may further produce a more difficult transition for the surviving spouse, especially when the retirement years were planned to be spent together (Atchley, 1975 as cited in Markides and Cooper, 1987). Another study showed similarities and differences between men and women in relationships who are going through the retirement transition. The results reveal changes in psychological well-being between being retired versus moving into retirement (Kim & Moen, 2002).

 

Retirement Defined

Retirement, according to the American Heritage Dictionary (2000), is the withdrawal from one's occupation, business or office, having finished one's active working life. However, this term can have different meanings to different people in all careers, institutions, corporations and government services. Retirement can be an event where there might be a retirement party or a retirement gift. It may also signal the beginning of an extended trip or receiving forms to be completed for pensions, extended healthcare benefits, etc. Retirement can also be a new role to play, such as collecting money without having a position of responsibility in the workplace. It can also be a phase in the latter part of our lives that comes after many years of employment (Atchley, 1976).

Decisions, guided by financial planning sessions and other sources, address the economic conditions of retirement. Unfortunately, decisions to leave the workplace are based primarily on the economics of retirement. Workers are concerned with having enough Social Security benefits, pensions and savings. The recent lack of economic growth affects workers who want to maintain their accustomed lifestyle. Consequently, retirement income is one of the heavily researched topics for those older adults faced with retirement decisions.

In addition to the economic changes that retirees face, current self-reported data show that older workers who remain in the workplace, rather than retiring, make their decisions based on several factors other than income alone. Beyond economic issues, social, mental and physical well-being plays a significant role in determining whether they will retire or remain in the workplace. However, the decision not to retire is also made for other reasons, such as the fear that the joys and benefits of retirement do not outweigh the losses they may experience (AARP Work and Career Study, 2002).

What motivates older adults to retire early? It is more than Viagra that is stimulating competitiveness and popularity for older adult workers (Sellers, 2000). The decisions to retire stem from poor health, norms and company buy-outs where individuals are given incentives to retire if they do so within the timeframe of a specific window.

Today, many older adults may choose to retire in their mid-fifties, not because they are mandated to do so, but because of employer-related incentives that provide an offer too good to refuse. Many employees may later find that it was perhaps not such a good choice and unhappiness results. Moving from the role of an employee to the role of the unemployed may be a complex and puzzling experience. According to Nordenmark & Strandh (1999), unemployment not only affects a person's economic resources, but it also affects a person's psychosocial well-being.

Since retirement has been epitomized as the ideal American dream among baby boomers, many older adults retire to conform to the norm at a traditional expected age that was appropriate for past generations when average lifespan was much shorter. According to Williamson, et al. (1992), individuals will spend as much of their life in retirement as they spend in the workforce because of the drop in the retirement age. His study of white-collared workers examined the hows and whys and the adjustment of people to the retirement experience.

Little research has addressed how older workers determine themselves ready to retire. However, the usual age to retire may vary across occupations. In addition, although there are universal similarities, there also exist among ethnic backgrounds cultural differences that are related to families and communities.

How can employees make informed decisions on when or not to retire? Current studies have focused on health status as a decision-making influence. Similarly, the increasing cost of healthcare insurance coverage also plays an important role as older adults examine their retirement options. To maintain a quality lifestyle and age successfully, individuals must consider whether or not retirement will meet their needs. Otherwise, this cohort may make decisions that may not be beneficial for them, their families or employers.

 

Retirees Defined

 The baby boom generation includes those individuals born between 1946 and 1964. According to the U.S. Census (2000), this cohort can be divided into two categories: those individuals born between 1946 and 1954 and those individuals born between 1955 and 1964. More people were born after the World War II years from 1946 to 1954. In contrast, a smaller number of births occurred between 1964 and the 1980s (Greller and Nee, 1989; Buzzo, Nelson, and Noonan, 1992; Park, 1994 as cited in Schaie, et al., (Eds.),1997). Baby boomers are concerned about retirement due to a longer life expectancy. Gerontologists also refer to them as the Sandwich Generation. They may be raising their children and also may be caregivers for aging parents. Balancing their work and personal responsibilities becomes a juggling act.

 

Historical Perspective

Census data from 2000 showed an increase of 12 percent in the over 65-year old U. S. population since 1990. Life expectancy continued its upward trend from 68 years in 1950, to almost 77 in 2000. Projected data suggests there will be more than 40 million Americans over age 65 in 2010, and close to 60 million by 2020. In contrast, the 40 to 55-year-old cohort will decline by 2020. Today, there are about 5 million people who are over age 85 (Graham, 1992). Consequently, the highest growth rate in the U.S. workforce will be among those workers aged 55 to 64. In addition, according to the American Association of Retired People (AARP, 2000), Americans are living longer and healthier lives. Retirees may expect to spend more years in retirement than previous generations. This will have a significant impact on businesses. Most of the growth in future job openings will not occur because of employment growth but through replacement openings. The challenge to employers will be in filling these openings with qualified individuals. Improvements in health care and higher levels of education have contributed substantially to this growth.

 

Significance of the Review

The review of the literature can be used by individuals contemplating retirement to design a retirement plan that includes strategies that combine the financial as well as the physical and psychosocial adjustments to retirement. Since the largest percentage of baby boomers are nearing retirement age, this paper may provide important knowledge because retirees' experiences may affect areas other than income. Under certain circumstances, it may affect the quality of a person's life and subsequent well-being. Consequently, research that focuses on the experiences of retirement on the baby boomers has been gaining interest, in part because of the tremendous growth in the population that is growing old.

 

Limitations

This paper is based on information that has been collected through a variety of resources and, therefore, uses secondary resources that gathered data from self-report surveys and interviews. In addition, the author conducted online topic researches that limit the ability to prioritize certain data. Understandably, those workers who are getting ready to retire may not be as enthusiastic about retirement preparation beyond the financial aspects. In contrast, some institutions embrace the preretirement counseling that includes educating the prospective retiree on the non-economic preparation that will help people plan and improve their perceptions and attitudes towards retirement. As a result, adult educators may play a role in a comprehensive retirement plan that guides the learner in an effective manner. Since the goal of this paper is to review the literature to examine the experiences of retirees, a roadblock to the review might be that it does not attempt to look at cause and effect. This is a conscious decision on the author's behalf. Of course, when dealing with interactions between people and their environment, there may be direct and indirect influences. The author's concern is to obtain the most accurate presentation of the experiences of retirement through a comprehensive review of the literature.

 

Summary:

Because work is typically an important part of a person's life, retirees face a multitude of work-related concerns such as job loss, grief, guilt, loss of self-esteem, loss of identity and loss of social support (Archer, 1993). In addition, they suffer increased depression, anxiety and physical illness than people who were employed (Turner, 1991). Further research is needed on areas of retiree well-being and increased collaboration with healthcare professionals to provide a more accurate assessment of the experiences of retirees who are under their care.

 

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